This is not only amazing, but it's CRIMINAL....Your President and his bunch of Goons have asked law abiding companies to act against current U.S. law and NOT notify employees of potential layoff BECAUSE the notices would go out right before the election and might hurt his chances for reelection....In the meantime the whole idea for military cutbacks as part of sequestration was THE WHITE HOUSE'S IDEA...and it was pushed until after the election so it was in his favor...AND he's spent the last YEAR doing nothing to forward any legislation...all he's done is fund raise and campaign....
And oh by the way he's telling these companies that YOUR TAX DOLLARS will be used to compensate any companies for any/all legislation that comes their way for NOT FOLLOWING THE LAW...
Obama and his Goons need to be arrested!!!
Administration to pay legal fees for contractors that don't issue sequestration warnings
Published September 29, 2012 FoxNews.com
The Obama administration has issued further guidelines for defense contractors facing layoffs over sequestration that include the promise of legal compensation for employee disputes, drawing renewed accusations from congressional Republicans about trying to conceal the full, potential impact of the looming situation.
The memorandum issued Friday restated the Labor Department's position from July that contractors should not issue written notices to employees because of the "uncertainty" over the across-the-board cuts to the defense budget and other federal spending that will occur Jan. 2 unless Congress reaches a new deal.
The notices are required under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act and generally require employers with more than 100 employees to provide 60-day notices of "mass layoffs if they are reasonably foreseeable."
"For the second time, the Obama administration has now encouraged government contractors to ignore the WARN Act and hold off on warning employees about possible layoffs due to the looming sequestration cuts,” Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. and lead author of the Sequestration Transparency Act, said Friday.
"Even more astonishing, the administration today told contractors that the government would cover legal costs that could result from ignoring the law. Rather than work with congressional Republicans to avert these devastating military cuts that threaten our national defense, the Obama administration is trying to confuse the public on the eve of an election."
The projected $500 billion in Pentagon cuts under the so-called sequestration will occur because Congress failed to agree on a deficit-reduction plan this summer.
The guidance issued by the Labor Department this summer stated "it is neither necessary nor appropriate" for federal contractors to issue the warnings.
The memorandum issued Friday states the federal government would cover employee compensation under the WARN Act – "irrespective of the outcome" as long as the contractor follows the Labor Department guidelines.
Still, defense contractor Lockheed Martin -- which might have to lay off employees should the cuts kick in -- is still considering whether to send out the notices, according to The Hill newspaper.
Rep. John Kline, chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, suggested last week that the Labor Department is trying to conceal the full impact of the cuts.
"The Labor Department is trying to hide the consequences of sequestration from workers," Kline, R-Minn., said in a letter to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.
The letter was the second in two months by Republican committee leaders in which they asked for an update and more detailed information about the obligations federal contractors have in giving the advanced notice.
On Friday, Republican Sens. John McCain, Ariz.; Lindsey Graham, S.C.; and Kelly Ayotte, N.H., issued a similar statement, saying in part, "The president should insist that companies act in accordance with the clearly stated law and move forward with the layoff notices."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Obama administration tells contractors again: Don’t issue layoff notices
By Jeremy Herb - 09/28/12 07:25 PM ET
The Obama administration issued new guidance intended for defense contractors Friday afternoon, reiterating the administration’s position that the companies should not be issuing layoff notices over sequestration.
The Labor Department issued guidance in July saying it would be “inappropriate” for contractors to issue notices of potential layoffs tied to sequestration cuts. But a few contractors, most notably Lockheed Martin, said they still were considering whether to issue the notices — which would be sent out just days before the November election.
But the Friday guidance from the Office of Management and Budget raised the stakes in the dispute, telling contractors that they would be compensated for legal costs if layoffs occur due to contract cancellations under sequestration — but only if the contractors follow the Labor guidance.
The guidance said that if plant closings or mass layoffs occur under sequestration, then “employee compensation costs for [Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification] WARN act liability as determined by a court” would be paid for covered by the contracting federal agency.
Senate Republicans, who accused the White House of trying to hide job losses after the first guidance, said Friday that the new OMB statement “puts politics ahead of American workers.”
“The Obama Administration is cynically trying to skirt the WARN Act to keep the American people in the dark about this looming national security and fiscal crisis,” Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) said in a statement. “The president should insist that companies act in accordance with the clearly stated law and move forward with the layoff notices.”
The fight over WARN Act notices began in June when Lockheed Martin CEO Bob Stevens said his company might send the notices to all 123,000 of its employees.
Some companies were hesitant to follow Lockheed, but several others told McCain in letters earlier this month they might send the notices, too, despite the Labor Department guidance.
But the new guidance would appear to address one of the chief concerns from the companies — that they could be liable to compensate employees who were laid off if the companies don’t issue the notices.
The GOP senators complained, however, that this tactic would push the cost of the layoffs onto taxpayers.
A Lockheed Martin spokeswoman told The Hill that the company is still reviewing the documents.
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